Papertrey is having a Spring Fling Challenge this weekend, to create something based on one of their designers' inspiration pieces. Lisa Johnson's piece really spoke to me.
For some reason, the tulips this year have been spectacular in our area. And they are still blooming! We have even had some appear at our house that were not here last year. 
These 2 in particular helped me choose colors for my card. I call these guys "My Soldiers." It's just the two of them, standing next to a bush in our front yard, guarding the house. I can see them through the window by my front door, and it is 2 pops of bright, orange-red, even on cloudy days.
Spring makes me think of flowers, putting away winter things, and don't laugh, but clean linens! I really want to go buy some soft, fresh-looking sheets right now. I wanted my card to have a crispness to it (like new linens), so I just used a plain, natural color for the base. I made score-lines on the card base to give the look of the piping on that top sheet.
Fresh flowers and clean linens...what comes to mind when I think of Spring today. And that is reason to smile and to celebrate!
SUPPLIES:
Stamps......Blossoms (Inkadinkado mega pak from Costco), Mixed Messages (PTI)
Ink............Noir (Palette), Versamark
Paper........Natural White (Neenah), Geranium (Martha Stewart)
Misc..........Seafoam White Embossing Powder (Ranger), Classic rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scor-Pal, foam mounting tape (3M), corner-rounder punch
I'm only 2 months late on this one...but after much persuasion (um, nagging) from both my Ladies, I finally got around to posting the cards I made them for their 13th birthday in March!
This photo was on their birthday weekend, and they were dressed up to go to a piano competition (do we know how to kill a celebration, or what?). Sophia is on the left, and Anastasia is on the right. Yes, they are twins...I know, I know: it's like seeing double! (groan) But don't they look lovely?
On with the cards:
Sophia is doing Pink and Brown for her theme colors this year, so I thought I'd make her a card with those colors. She also loves House Mouse stamps. I bought her one for a birthday gift (this one), and made her card with another stamp that I purchased at the same time (this cutie)...I intended to use different DP that was strictly pink and brown, but it just didn't look right with the cupcake on the stamp, so I used Basic Grey's "Two Scoops" instead; which seemed very party-licious to me....The sentiment is computer generated with a Inkadinkado stamp in the center, and cut with a classic circle Nestie. I added sparkle to some of the dots on the DP with my stardust pen, and stickles to the cupcake frosting and sentiment swirl...I just wanted it sparkly!
Had to decorate the inside, too:
SUPPLIES:
Stamps....Make a Wish (House Mouse), swirl (Blossoms Inkadinkado Costco mega pack)inside sentiment (Marcella)
Ink...Noir (Palette), Pink Petunia (Versamagic Chalk)
Paper...Solar White (Neenah), Pink Blush, Dark Chocolate (PTI), Two Scoops (BasicGrey)
Nesties....classic circle, classic rectangle, scalloped rectangle
Misc...Threading Water border punch (Fiskars), diamond stickles, sakura star dust pen, pink rhinestones (KaiserCraft & Joanns ), heart pins (Heidi Grace), earring ends & sheer ribbon (Joanns), Copics
Did you know Anastasia loves yellow? She does...actually she breathes yellow. And basically, yellow was probably created just for her to enjoy (at least, that's what I've been told since she was very young). Anyways, no problem deciding on a color scheme for her card...
She also loves to read. Every night at bedtime, I go to tell her good night, and she looks up from the book she's reading, and says, "I know, I know: it's bedtime. Just let me finish this chapter." Which really means, "I'd really like to finish this book, so say 'goodnight' and be on your way...wait, where' my hug?".
When I saw this Whiff of Joy Stamp (Melinda reading book), I knew it would be perfect for her! The sentiment "Just One More Chapter" is computer generated and printed on vellum. I used some Floral Elegance digi-download paper from Gina K., which went perfectly with our yellow theme even though they are darker yellows (Anastasia says to me, "I've been kind of in a yellow ochre mood lately, and I don't know why..."). Added a few sparkly swirls (you're never too old for sparkles...even if you are a teenager), and gorgeous satin ribbon with some butterflies hanging down (because Anastasia is my yellow butterfly!).
And the inside of Miss Yellow's card:
SUPPLIES:
Stamps....Melinda reading book (Whiff of Joy)
Paper...Natural White (Neenah), Vellum (PTI), Yellow (DCWV), Floral Elegance digital paper (Gina K.), Catarina (7Gypsies)
Ink...Noir (Palette), Antique Linen Distress
Punches...Lace border punch (Martha Stewart), Swirl Flourish (EK Success)
Nesties...classic & scalloped rectangles
Misc...satin ribbon (unknown gorgeous color, free with Sept. order from Ellen Hutson), stickles, sakura stardust pen, Copics, butterflies (Jewelry Essentials at Joanns)
Okay, both girls gave me their enthusiastic 'okays' and 'thumbs up' to post the following photo (they are teenagers now, you know, so I have to ask their permission regarding these semi-embarrassing matters).
Now, to me they haven't changed all that much: when I see this photo or the one at the beginning of the blog, it's still my Ladies looking back at me, and they don't look too different (except more hair, and one is wearing glasses). But really, I don't see a huge change. I don't know why that is...
You all might be able to notice a change. I guess the height difference is a bit noticeable. Maybe they do look more similar to each other in the baby photo...
Anybody want to try and guess who is who in the baby picture?
Nope, I can't still can't see a huge change: it's still my two Ladies, born on the same day, but so uniquely different that I have no problem telling them apart...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
SOPHIA
&
ANASTASIA!!!
and my sincerest apologies to both of you for the tardiness of this post...but it will most likely happen again, though, because it's what I do...
This month's challenge at Inchie INKlings is to create an inchie that uses a word (or words). Ellen created some lovely inchies with words that described different aspects of herself...
that kind of inspired me to find a word that I would use to describe someone: my oldest son, Ziggy, who is blind.
The one word that always comes in to my mind for him is "faith." He even has a shirt with this verse on it, which pretty much says what he feels:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)"
When Ziggy was younger, one of his favorite shapes was stars, so I thought I'd put them on his Inchie. He tells me his favorite color is blue, so I chose a dark blue, like a night sky, where the stars are placed.
We've talked about the sky and the stars and how, above all of that seemingly endless canopy of stars, is God. And He placed each star in its spot, and He made Ziggy exactly like He wanted, and He loves Ziggy...and Ziggy has faith in God. And it's not a faith like he needs something as a last resort to cling on to, or because there's nothing better out there to believe in...but faith because it's the truth, and he can depend on it, always...and I can't argue with that...
So I put the word "faith" in Braille on top of the Inchie, so Ziggy could see it first (now, I hate showing stuff that others can't produce themselves,
so I apologize for that, but if you ever need something brailled, let me know, and I'll see what I can do to get it to you).
I wanted the Braille to look like stars in the night sky, so I highlighted them with my stardust pen. Added a few stars, and the print word "faith." 
SUPPLIES:
Stamps.....Everyday Blessings (PTI), Special Occasions Mega Pack (Inkadinkado)
Ink....Noir (Palette), Night Sky (Versamagic chalk ink), Versamark
Paper...Inchie squares, Solid Indigo (DCWV)
Misc...stardust pen (Sakura), Braille writer, glue
So, it's kind of a simple Inchie, but that really is Ziggy: simple faith in the God who is above us all...Good night, my Sweet Prince...
This is the first time I've done a CPS sketch...I check their sketches every week, but I never seem to get any done.
This card was inspired by the gloomy weather we are having, and somehow, PTI's Summer Sunrise paper reminds me of a delicious, sunny day.
SUPPLIES:
Stamps...sun (Inkadinkado "Blossoms" mega pack from Costco)
Ink....Thatched Straw, Mango Madness, Persimmon (VersaMagic Chalk Ink)
Paper...Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart (PTI), Solar White (Neenah)
Misc....Clear (Atyou Spica), computer generated sentiment, Labels trio (Nestabilities), corner rounder punch, Scor-Pal
Okay, finally got Mom & Dad's Valentine card done! I made it on Kraft so it wouldn't be too girly for Dad. 
Mom & Dad love gardening (especially vegees in the summer), so I thought the Peapod of Hearts image was perfect for them! I kind of messed up on the polka dots, but they'll forgive me. Finally go a chance to use my Scor-Pal and Labels 1 Nesties on it (Christmas presents from dh!)...
the vine ribbon is May Arts from a craft store, and I dressed it up by attaching punched hearts with jump rings (found in the beading section at Joann's).
For the inside I punched out some Martha Stewart hearts, and doodled on some dots and dashes for fun:
Peter said he's glad I used Kraft paper on it because" it's like dirt, you know, and the bean is like growing in the garden in the dirt." SUPPLIES: Stamps...Peapod of Hearts, Peas Be Mine (Lockhart); "valentine" (Inkadinkado mega pack from Costco); Polka Dot BG (CHF)
Ink...Tuxedo black (Memento), New Canvas (Palette)
Paper...Solar White (Neenah); Kraft (PTI);RazzleBerry, Cotton Candy (PopTone); green (stash)
Misc...Labels 1 (Spellbinders), ScorPal, Heart punch for inside hearts (Martha Stewart); vine ribbon (May Arts); jump rings (Darice), Copics (R81, R83, YG13, YG21), Pen-Touch white pen
Anastasia informed me that I have not posted to my blog in a few days, and that instead of playing a mindless video game, I should spend my time in a more productive way...
Okay, my little chickadee, here we go:
This was a fun and easy card made with my Inkadinkado Christmas birds. I used versamark and sparkly gold embossing powder for the image (regular gold gives better coverage, though). Image was cut with Labels 2 nesties and I used a gold paint pen along the edges. DP is Basic Grey Wassail. The snowflakes were punched with Martha Stewart punch, using leftover "messed up" paper from my parents' 50th anniversary card (I had embossed it and put gold perfect pearls on it, and it looked BAAD).
I don't know what kind of bird it is, but it reminds me of a chickadee...
And here are my other chickadees, basking in the glory of springtime flowers (okay, flower garlands at Michael's the other day, but we can pretend).
Was this post okay, Anastasia? Now to get back to my video game...I'm almost to level 6, then I get absolutely nothing for winning!
We finally put up the tree! I've been so behind with holiday festivities this year. This year, the kids did most of the tree assembling and decorating, so that was nice. I think they each had areas of the tree that they were in charge of, so that added to the excitement. So far, the puppy hasn't bothered the tree too much (some, but not as much as I had feared).
My dad called and said that they had their tree up, but not decorated yet. So we decided to send them a a few ornaments to get them in the mood to put up more. I wrapped the ornaments in tissue paper and sealed them with a silver shimmer circle that had been stamped and sparkle-embossed. The card is one that Sophia made last week when we had a card-making afternoon. She used images from our Mega Inkadinkado set that we purchased at Costco (the girls love Inkas!). You can't tell from the photo, but she highlighted all of those snowflakes with a Sakura glitter pen and Copic spica pen; it is so sparkly! I wrapped the whole ensemble in shimmery silver tissue paper...
Lovely card, Sophia!!! Can you make me a set of 12?
So since we all decorated the tree, we all had opinions about what should go on top: star or angel? Actually, we never can decide, so we did what we always do: PUT UP BOTH! 
Zoinks! Looks like I forgot to post this one...Way back on November 12, Tracy hosted the weekly color challenge for the PTI forum; this time it was an inspiration challenge, based on this photo:
I really liked the plates in this picture, and wished I could be sitting at the table, having a party with that table setting. So I decided to make a plate on my card, and put it on a busy table cloth.
Mom likes the sentiment on the inside, so I printed a sentiment in Chopin Script:
"Hope your day is blissfully sparkly."
The card is really more square shape IRL, and is a bit larger than usual (5x5.5). Anastasia announced that our Christmas Crafting Colors for this year are green and silver (last year they were red and white). So, I had to put the silver glitter on the edge of the plate.
SUPPLIES: Stamps...hummingbird, flower garden (Inkadinkado); Ink...Pearlescent Poppy (Brilliance), Antique Linen Distress; Paper...Neenah Solar White, red from my stash, DP (Scenic Route); Misc...plain & scalloped circle nesties; white satin ribbon (Joann's); sterling glitter (Martha Stewart)I'm going to send this to Mom tomorrow to get her in the holiday mood. She likes red, so I hope this will give her a giggle.
And here's something that gave me a giggle...it was in the window of a store (I won't say the name, so they won't get embarrassed). It just struck me as funny; like saying "food is good to eat," or "cold weather can make you cold." Hope it makes you giggle, too.
Well, once again I needed a quick card. Maybe that's how it's going to be for this year: quick & simple...as long as I don't get sloppy, it should be okay. This one is for Mom & Dad for Thanksgiving. Their cards have to be mailed (they live 600 miles away) and the Post Office has been giving me quite a hard time with cards with bows and brads. So, I've started making their cards less layered and a bit more simple, just so I can mail it straight from my house (and not go in to the Post Office).
This one features my Inkadinkado set "Fall Season." I have used this set so much this Fall; I really thought I'd use it only for the tree, but I think I've used all of the images...
You can't tell from the photo, but the leaves are shimmery! This was the first time I used Perfect Pearls, and it is so much fun. You just stamp using the Perfect Medium (instead of ink), then brush on pigment powder to the wet image, then brush away the excess powder. After all images are pigmented, spray the whole thing lightly with water or hairspray (I used hairspray).
Here is a photo of the set I used and my little travel size hairspray. I applied the pigment powder with the smaller brush, then brushed away excess powder with the larger brush.
I colored some images with copper and some with bronze powder. I definitely need more practice with this stuff, though. I had some smudges and unevenness in pearl coverage, but it was still a lot of fun.
SUPPLIES: Paper...Natural White (Neenah), Caramel (Paper Company); Stamps...Fall Season (Inkadinkado); Font...Harrington (printed in dark brown on laser printer); Misc...ribbon tag dies (Spellbinders), brick piped ribbon (Martha Stewart), Antique Linen distress ink, Perfect Pearls (bronze & copper), Dove hairsprayAnd for absolutely no reason at all...
This a weird photo that I took the other day at the Costco parking lot. It just struck me as pretty: dark bird on dark branches against a gray sky. That bird was in no hurry, too. There were tons of cars in the parking lot and lots of traffic, but he just sat there...sat long enough for me to grab my camera out of the car, which really irritated the guy who wanted me to leave so he could have my parking spot (so he finally gave up and went somewhere else; the bird, however, stayed).
Somedays, it really helps to find "pretty" wherever you are; even if it is at a Costco parking lot.
Well, I was inspired to do another Inkadinkado card...I know, enough already, but I certainly am getting my money's worth with this stamp set! This time, I combined it with PTI's Everyday Blessings, to try to make a Thanksgiving card. I hope it will work. There are so many cute Thanksgiving sets out there, but I just don't have the funds right now to invest in them. But I'm thankful for the stamps I do have :)
Of course, the brads on this card form a Braille letter! This one is the letter "c," which has nothing to do with the theme of the card; it was more for balance. The photo makes the ribbon appear kind of gray, but it is actually a sage green IRL, and matches the green in the DP.
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Fall Season (Inkadinkado), Everyday Blessings (PTI); Ink...Brown (Palette); Paper...Mellow (Basic Grey), Summer Sunrise & Dark Chocolate (PTI); Misc...rectangle Nesties, silver sage twill (Martha Stewart), brads (Making Memories)
And here's a picture of one of the things I'm very thankful for: my oldest son, Ziggy! This was taken on Thursday evening, after we went to a bike event at the School for the Blind. Since it was dinnertime, we decided to go to McDonalds for a Big Mac Feast (can't beat 2 Macs for $3 on Thursdays)...yes, we ate a total of 8 Big Macs (although Peter opted for salad, of course).
I was having fun stamping my Inkadinkado stamps on some Basic Grey paper, and made a few more Autumnal cards. When I stamped the tree in black ink, Anastasia said it looked "too much like Halloween," but in brown ink she said, "ooh, pretty!" I kind of like the brown ink ones, too.
I didn't put a sentiment on them so that they could be just note cards, and I didn't want to cover up any of the pretty patterned paper!
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Fall Season (Inkadinkado); Ink...Brown (Palette); Paper...Harvest (DCWV), Mellow (BasicGrey), Coffee Bean (Martha Stewart); Misc...Classic circle Nesties
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Fall Season (Inkadinkado); Ink...Brown (Palette); Paper...Summer Sunrise (PTI), Coffee Bean (Martha Stewart), Mellow (BasicGrey); Misc...Classic circle nesties
Here's the trio, together. Looks like I'm in a more Mellow, than Ambrosia mood. I am really enjoying these two sets of patterned papers.
And now a bit of puppy business: A while ago, we put Scooby's water and food up on a box so that she would have an easier time eating (since she's an older dog, it's hard to bend and eat). Pippin decided that she needed to eat and drink this way, too. We even put her dishes on the floor, but she still goes over to Scooby's box-thingy, and eats "just like Scooby does." What a riot! 
Maybe it's because I'm in a Back-to-School mood, but decided to post another Braille Embellishment card. Again, with "B", because repetition leads to memorization (right, Anastasia?). The pearls on the lower right form a Braille '"b", and "bunny" starts with "b".
This is actually a card I made a few months ago, for my mom, who likes bunnies. She always wants black/gray cards that are serious...so I kind of made it formal on the outside, with no color: 
And not so formal on the inside:
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Bunny (Inkadinkado); Ink...Noir (Palette); Paper...Stamper's Select (PTI), others from my stash; Misc...prismacolors & OMS, Pearls (Martha Stewart), paper piercer, plastic canvas, Giddyup font (dafont.com).
And a quick picture of Pippin, waiting patiently for her first appointment with the Vet...
I was inspired to try stamping on patterned paper today. My first attempt was with butterflies on some cute Memory Box paper, but the results were awful...So I decided to stamp on "sort of" patterned paper from Basic Grey's "Ambrosia" (wow, I like this set...and I'm not an orange person). I stamped my tree on the non-patterned solid paper from the pack and mounted using a traditional layout...not really satisfied with the results, but Anastasia liked it, so maybe it's okay...
SUPPLIES: Paper...Ambrosia (Basic Grey), Black (Memory Box), Orange (DCWV); Stamps...Fall Season (Inkadinkado); Ink...Noir (Palette); Misc...black satin ribbon (Joann's generic), dimensionals, classic circle Nesties
I forgot to post a photo of our new puppy, Pippin, so here she is:
Steve brought her home as a surprise last Friday...he'd been out of town all last week, found an ad for a dog breeder, and picked her up on his way home...kind of a nice surprise, and I've been wanting a second dog for a long time...I think our other dog, Scooby, is going to get a lot of exercise with this new puppy running around.
My kids have several dolls, and every few months, I am informed that it is one of their birthdays. I usually make something for the doll (after all, I am it's Grandma). Sometimes we make a dessert (something small, because dolls are small). And usually all the dolls show up on my kitchen counter for the entire Birthday: kind of fun.
Anyways, a few weeks ago, it was Sarah & Sierra's Birthday. I think they're twins. One likes pink and the other likes green. I'm a lousy grandma, because I can't tell them apart.
I didn't have time to make them a gift, so I made some quick cards. These are small cards...I used my Marvy scalloped square punch to make the base, and used a birthday sentiment from PTI's Mixed Messages for the inside of the card...For their birthday "cake", I sliced up a Little Debbie Swiss Roll (like a Hostess Ho-Ho) and put them on tiny plates for all the dolls; it was quite the party!
Happy Birthday, Sarah & Sierra!!!
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Birthday Cupcake (Inkadinkado), Mixed Messages (PTI); Ink...Palette Noir; Paper...pink & green (The Paper Company), Berry Sweet designer mat pad (K&Company); Misc...Marvy Scallop punch, Square (Whale-of-A Punch), prismacolor pencils, sakura glitter pen.
Just a couple of bird cards I did for Mom...need to post them, so if she needs more, I'll have an idea of what I did. The first one is pretty much designed after this one by Tammy Hershberger (I showed Mom the photo of Tammy's card, and she wanted me to make a set for her...I did this one without the flowers, though. I'll make her a black one with red flowers as soon as I get my Nesties).
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Birds Galore (Inkadinkado), Boxes, Bags & Tags (PTI), Thank You (Fiskars); Paper...Bohemian Memories & My Journey (My Mind's Eye); Ink...Coffee Bean (Tsukineko Brillance); Misc...brown ribbon from Mom's thrift store.
This one is the same layout, but with old buttons (from a thrift store) instead of ribbon. This one was fun, because Mom volunteers in a thrift store, and the name of the patterned paper is "Thrift Store." The paper is adhesive, so it was really quick to put together. Steve said it's "too busy", but I wanted it to look eclectic, like a thrift store :)
SUPPLIES: Stamps...Birds Galore (Inkadinkado); Paper...Thrift Store adhesive mats (Autumn Leaves); Ink...coffee bean (Tsukineko Brillance); Misc...clear EP, Martha Stewart border punch, old buttons.
Steve was on another business trip, and I needed to do something with the kids, so we decided to go on a little hike to Wahlclella Falls, which is about 40 miles from home. What fun! Ziggy was a little nervous at first, but decided that if Erik Weinmeyer could climb Mt. Everest, then he could manage this 2 mile hike. It was a bit tricky, since most of the trail is just wide enough for one person, so it was hard to guide Ziggy, but we managed. Another hiker (and her dog) offered to take a group photo of us at the end of the trail (have to laugh at this one since I'm standing on low ground I look short...I'm actually 5'7", but it's kind of neat not being the tallest in a photo)...What a fun day!!!
These 2 in particular helped me choose colors for my card. I call these guys "My Soldiers." It's just the two of them, standing next to a bush in our front yard, guarding the house. I can see them through the window by my front door, and it is 2 pops of bright, orange-red, even on cloudy days.
Spring makes me think of flowers, putting away winter things, and don't laugh, but clean linens! I really want to go buy some soft, fresh-looking sheets right now. I wanted my card to have a crispness to it (like new linens), so I just used a plain, natural color for the base. I made score-lines on the card base to give the look of the piping on that top sheet.
